Author
Topic: Into the Chaos (IC) (Read 17408 times)

The last weeks were unbelievably insane, the entire police force was nowhere to be seen. Undeads were roaming the streets burning cars that were left in the streets, drugging into the sewers people that were unfortunate enough to be in the street. These were weeks of mistrust where entire neighborhoods have barricaded themselves. Armed militias and gangs took over the power vacuum that was left by the disappearance of the knights. It was the atmosphere that has given raise to humanists in the city council and segregation of humans and metas has become the norm. In most places, being a trog was enough to shoot at you and being a stranger was enough to have you harassed.

As trade halted, bare necessities became in high demand and food struggles were not uncommon. Then one day the knights were back and they did not come empty handed. They brought food and clean water and offered them for free to anyone. Their agents braved the streets - and behaved politely, uncharacteristically polite, even to SINless people. To indicate their change of approach the knights have all carried a big red heart ribbon on their body armors. Could charity really save a city?

It appeared that peace and harmony had followed the knights wherever they went. Nobody challenged them even as they went deep into gang territory. The knights have even reached neighborhoods that they could not enter before the chaos. Shortly after the knights arrived to a new territory - it was reformed. Crime was eliminated, old rivalries were forgotten and everyone were going out of their way for the common good. You could even see humanist activists housing homeless meta’s in their own home and Rival gangs that peacefully surrendered their weapons to the knights without a fight.

Within a week the city was transformed from a dysfunctional hellhole into a prospering utopia. At least on the outside it was as the food and drinks were all infected with nanites and the more nanites you had inside - the stronger her grip was. Yes, the entire city has gave in to an emerging AI goddess called Red, or the Red queen. But not everyone took part in the blissful utopia. A small fraction of the populace however, were immune, either because they already had nanites, or because their body filtered out nanites more aggressively than most. These formed a resistance, and were forced to remote locations outside of the nanite cloud that was now called Seattle. Red’s followers were continuously scanning the open spaces around Seattle looking for these rebels - whom they called followers of the Cat, without understanding why.

One night a bright flare lit the night sky. It was a massive shock-wave that briefly rendered the night into a day. It fired most of the nanites and instantly ended Red’s reign but it also fried most of the matrix infrastructure. It was only then that evidence of the horror started arriving. People reported about the feeling of helplessness, as they were trapped in their own body, unable to protest, unable to scream.

So here we are, the city is now managed by a government intervention force. The knights have become persona non gratta in the city, many of them were lynched in the first days after the blast, others have fled the city. Instead of Knights, Lone Star were called to keep the peace, but even they cannot bring order to many regions in the city. The matrix is being rapidly deployed, but coverage is still lacking. In the Barrens there is a new alternative network, salvaged from the lost computer age and maintained by a bunch of electronic geeks, scavengers and programmers in lost techniques, that call themselves the Brain eaters.

January 12th 2076:

@Kynos Ryan Marks leaves you a message: “Kynos, still alive? If you aren’t then who is... you know what I am saying? If you are alive I have a job for you, ping me for details.”

@Maxwell Grail have never came back, and while Amy has rendered the processing plant off grid for Red. You were safe but could not leave. Food was rationed but Grail had quite a stockpile and you survived. The drawback was that you had to watch Amy feeds for the first time, and kills the poor girl. Apparently she lacked the self control needed to restrain herself. The following days Amy was in a terrible mood and would barely talk to you.

One night as you were already sleeping she woke you up and said: “He came back... please Max, I am begging you to run! I need him to help me figure this vampire thing. I cannot go on killing people like that.”

@Wheely A persona nicked Casa approaches you in the matrix. Saying: “Wheely, heh... I heard you have some undamaged vehicles and drones. I need some package delivered and I need a wheelman.”

@Knockout ? (Raider Joseph’s char) When you arrive at home one night, you get a handwritten note under your door. “Name is Finestra... I was looking for you for a paying job.” Look for me at the Gates casino.

@Ayato - You are approached by a slick Yak lieutenant that everybody calls Ballz. He reminds you that your debit is due and that his boss is going to break your bones if you do not make the monthly payment next week. He gives you the number of a troll named Athos - saying that he might have works for you.

@Irris Your fixer Slim contacts you and places GPS coordinates of a casino in Bellevue called ‘the Gates’ the label say “Ask for Casa, free drink and a chance for job.”

@Nyx The last weeks were rough, you were captured by a bunch of mercenaries. You were placed in restraints, in a sealed locked box at the back of a bulldog truck. Then something extraordinary, happened the van stopped and nobody came for you - for many days. Something happened to the mercenaries, eventually you were released from the box, barely alive. You were found at the parking lot of a casino named Gates and was quickly brought to a plain looking woman named Valentina. Apparently, Valentina runs the gates, and she seemed very sympathetic and friendly. She made sure that you were comfortable and even offered you a temporary job until you got on your feet - a casino hostess. In some very confusing days, she has made sure that you were well rested and well fed.

One day, Valentina asks you to take care of a very special guest that calls himself mr. Casa. No last name, just Casa. She instruct you to place him in a private booth that is easily accessible through the worker area and then adds: “His contacts are going to arrive and may not exactly blend in the casino so make sure that they are unseen as they enter and unseen as they leave. Oh, and give Casa whatever he asks for, make sure that he is satisfied from the service provided.”

@Nicole Your side business is booming since the flash, many people have problems with their cyberware. Nothing too drastic to resolve but the shockwave have taken some automatic mechanisms out of sync and has made ware glitchy. You make some good living fixing cybereyes, DNI’s and the sort when suddenly you notice that your 17:00 meeting is a woman that did not appear to need your services, she was in perfect health and was not augmented and wore an expensive suit.

“Oh... I did not come for a software upgrade, I came to offer you a job... if you are interested, my name is Fabiana Salvo, but my colleagues call me Finestra.” She said.

Kynos had spend a lot of time in his bolt hole, venturing out in his FBA with the fake KE markings. Having tangled with RED before, he had almost instantly recognized the behavior among the Knights - and consequently consumed only food and drink from his stash. 'Should have gone for an external nanite host with CAT' was a thought he had trice daily when he munched listlessly on his protein bar. The EM-blast caused him two full days of the worst migraine he ever experienced - presumably due to the nanites CAT had left in his brain.

He was quite amazed when his commlink went back online and delivered Ryan's message:

<<Cockroaches and I. Sure, I'm up for work - is it suit, camo or FBA attire work?>>

Noëmie agreed easily to Valentina's request. It was a small request, and her job after after all. Job... What a weird word. Her first real, steady, one. She didn't think it would last however. She owed it to Valentina to not stay too long. The mercenaries, frag them, had found her in Seattle. Sooner or later, and probably much sooner than that, others will find her. By staying here, she is only endangering Valentina and her casino. Still, for now...

Wearing a nice black dress and small heels, with a nice silken red scarf around her neck to add a smashing touch of colour, she waits patiently for the guests. While she does, she distracts anyone that would stray close to the private booth, or on the way between the entrance and there. It doesn't take much, a simple movement of her head to wave her long blond hair, a small change of posture or even eye contact is often enough to have anyone forget anything that isn't her. Flattering of course, but sometimes a bit tiresome. Especially since it makes her that much more difficult to hide.

For the more contrary, she can always say a word of two to them. She's not sure she will ever get used to the way her clearly audible French accent seems to draw the people from here to her. She's trying to get rid of it, but even if she speaks English quite well, she never managed it. Still, at the moment, it's a nice tool to use.

Everything had gone to hell. Everything fell to ruin and failure. The search for that toxic mage weeks ago had turned up fruitless. Maxwell and his fellow runners looked about the mall endlessly, asking anyone and everyone about James Franco. Alas nothing concrete had shown up. They were forced to retire and head home. Re-plan tactics and approach things at an new angle. At least, that's what they had hoped for. What Maxwell didn't anticipate was having to hole himself up for the duration of the riots and undead outbreak. Funny how events rarely go as planned.

The time spent in hiding was pleasant all things considered. The food ration was troublesome at first but not unmanageable. However, it wasn't all ideal for him or for Amy. She grew hungry and had to feed to satiate herself, to survive. A girl was picked out at random by Maxwell to tide Amy over until she thirsted again. In fact he supervised the process himself for he was curious as to how vampires drained blood and essence in a matter of seconds. Carefully he watched over her as an added precautionary, but even that was a futile gesture. The fledgling vampire couldn't help herself as she bit into the cultist and devoured her utterly. Maxwell pleaded with her to stop, to restrain herself. Again... pointless.

The two didn't talk much after that ordeal. She was too depressed and probably even scared. Little to nothing could be done to console her. Save give her some time and space to cope with what she had done. Well, that's what Maxwell had originally planned. He was roused from bed and given the worst possible news. Eyes wide and franticly, Maxwell says. "What? What do you mean he's back? And no! I'm not leaving you again. Not after what he did to you. If he's here then I can settle this once and for all. He'll burn by my hands!"

@Kynos Ryan texts back>>I knew I could count on you... Guy calls himself Casa, but his SIN is registered to some Christopher pope. He is dirty but he has a lot of money, mainly from gambling dens around Europe. New to the city but other fixers that worked with him were happy. Keep your eye open as this is not the real deal background check. Casa says to bring your equipment to the service entrance of the Gates. Where he'll meet you in person, he said that it is more shotgun than pistol kind of job if you know what I mean.

@Maxwell Amy seems terrified and say "the drones have identified him, he is not trying to hide walking the place like he owns it, and he is not alone." It takes Amy a bit to understand that you do not have an implemented image link. She places the security cameras on one of the screens. It shows a handsome young man you assume is Grail along with a girl, a lover, no not a girl, even at the camera you can sense that she is not really walking - but is gliding, she is clearly a spirit!

@Nicole: Casa is a man at his forties that speaks with a hint of Italian accent. He arrives with a younger lady that was clearly heavily beaten. Her lower lip need stitching, and her eye has a big ugly punch mark on it. The two enter from the service entrance and signal you to lead them to their booth, they grow silent when you get close.

@Ayato - You are approached by a slick Yak lieutenant that everybody calls Ballz. He reminds you that your debit is due and that his boss is going to break your bones if you do not make the monthly payment next week. He gives you the number of a troll named Athos - saying that he might have works for you.

Ayato bows just barely enough to show respect. It is due to the organization that he owes money to but this is a flunky who barely deserves his attention. The promise of work is enticing. Domo arigato Ballz-San. I strive in earnest to repay my debts. I will contact this Athos.

After Ballz leaves Ayato links the troll as he gathers his things. >>Greetings Athos-san. I understand you may have some work for an independent contractor.<<

Logged

Life is a hideous thing, and from the background behind what we know of it peer daemoniacal hints of truth which make it sometimes a thousandfold more hideous. --H. P. Lovecraft

Kynos pondered for a moment and replied: <<You had me at "a lot of money". Thanks. Love Kynos>>

Getting there was still a bit of a problem - he hadn't exactly been able to replace his Yamaha during the riots and anyway, he kind of liked using a bicycle around the city: It was silent, energy independent and easy to fix. Getting a workout was also kind of nice. That left the question what to wear. The casino sounded high class, so he probably would have to dust off his suit. But riding a bike through this city tended to be a bit rough on the appearance, so he instead got out his duffel bag, made sure his work gear, including the Alpha, was in it and added the Berwick Suit. Then he got in his FBA and made sure all KE patches were removed and instead stuffed in his pockets. A lot of people still liked to shoot the errant knights on sight. That had been annoying, but at least some of them had had some nice candy bars on them, so wasting them in return wasn't entirely pointless 'Hm, I really should try and find more of those Honey Almond bars. Those almost taste like European candy.'As an afterthought he added the duster to his attire. It tended to flap in the gale, but it disguised his armor somewhat. Adding the helmet in the bag, he got ready to head out. Taser and gun in their holsters, ready for some high noon quick draw action.

Soon after he was on the road, using the mountain bike's terrain flexibility to the hilt while crossing the city.

@Ayato Ballz seems amused by your subtle gesture and Mimics your gestures and says with a silly smile on his face "Either James-San if we are in formal business or just Ballz. I am doing you a favor... My buddy Athos pays me a nice finders fee and you seems like a good muscle to hire... Besides that bone breaker is a real creeper and I'd rather not talk to him if I do not have to. Save the bowing to Mr. Andu... I grew up in Seattle not in the motherland."

Athos texts you back - ">>You must be the one Ballz was talking about 14:00 at the Gates, come from the service entrance. You meet a guy named Casa."

Nicole has not quite defied her Renraku handlers by coming to Seattle. Not quite. Even though they burned her, she knows that she is still on their leash and cannot do too much to piss the mighty AAA pukes off, but she can and does exercise some degree of apparent freedom. She arrived in the sprawl just before the drek hit and had joined up with some undead hunters that needed a ride and took advantage of her medical and combat skills. Sadly, the team had pretty much disintegrated after only a short time in the field. Three of the men had died and two more had melted away as the violence had increased. When it was over and KE came back, Nicole's innate suspicions about good cops kept her from celebrating with them. She simply went to work offering her services to repair and replace damaged or dead cyberware. Things were actually looking up and business was booming, even before the massive EMP took out the nanites. After that event, business REALLY took off.

The appointment that turned out to be something else did take her by surprise. The job offer is apparently at some casino that she has to look up to even find out how to drive there. Looking the place up on the matrix, she finds that the Gates Casino is somewhat upscale and grimaces. She has no nice clothes, but she does have some that are clean and pressed that she can wear and gets them out of her "closet" that is hidden in the side of the van. Investing some money in getting the "smuggling compartments" installed had been genius, in her humble opinion. Now she has a place to store her personal items and even a place to sleep in comfort without detracting from the business appearance of the van. She drives to the casino parking lot and changes to her best street clothes before going into the building.

The hostess immediately attracts Nicole's attention. She is pretty and dressed well, but the real telling point is that her accent places her as French. She approaches her and tries to enter into a conversation. "You are French! I was born in Paris, where are you from?"

@Wheely A persona nicked Casa approaches you in the matrix. Saying: “Wheely, heh... I heard you have some undamaged vehicles and drones. I need some package delivered and I need a wheelman.”

Wheely frown a little at the nickname, so far all his jobs came from Dwight, it may be a sign that he is starting to make an impression. Anyway nuyen is nuyen and time are hard, he can't afford to refuse if he wants to keep the Garage much longer. Interupting his game of Dawn of Atlantis III (condemning the mythic city to sink for the fourth time) his reply is straightforward :

<<Available at your earliest convenience. Send the details : place, time and pay, so we can reach an agreement>>

Because you can't be too careful Wheely make a couple of Matrix Search on the nick Casa to see what he can get.

I park at the Gates with my guns in the car. As I enter i make note of exits and the floor layout determining the best defensive areas and fall back points almost instinctually. I'm dressed casually black pants with white blouse and sensible shoes. I wear my armored coat over them my black hair tied back with a white ribbon. Upon entering I ask any nearby staff about the Casa party and head in.

Logged

SpeechMatrixSub-vocalThoughts

“Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality.”― Lewis Carroll

Noëmie gracefully welcomes the newcomer with a light smile "Good evening Miss. Are you here for Mister Casa's party?" she turns to Nicole and should she express the same need to meet Casa, Noëmie will bring both women to the private booth. "Please, follow me."

Nicole looks at the newcomer with interest then follows the pretty hostess. "Yes. I am here to meet with monsieur Casa as well. Are there others here for the same purpose? Can you tell me anything about him?"

While walking she turns to the other woman, holding out a hand. "My name is Simone LeClerc. It would appear that we are to be interviewed for some sort of position."